As every woman who has ever bought a cheap razor knows, there is a cost to failing to invest – often a painful one. Rachel Reeves has acknowledged this for the first time when it comes to public sector pay.

There has long been an argument that not paying NHS staff an above inflation pay rise ultimately costs more, because every time workers walk out on strike the Treasury suffers to the tune of millions of pounds and countless missed appointments.

In her first interview since becoming Chancellor, Reeves told the BBC: “There is a cost to not settling, a cost of further industrial action, and a cost in terms of the challenge we face recruiting.”

Accepting this trade-off gives Reeves the opportunity to reset the terms of the debate which dogged the previous Government and made waiting lists in the NHS worse.

But doing so comes at a cost. With inflation currently running at around 2 per cent, anything above that would outstrip Treasury expectations for the new public sector pay deal. A rise of 5.5 per cent, as recommended by independent pay review bodies, could cost around £3bn........

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